Chapter 124: Drunk

Bai Yao was pained by the cost of the two sets of women’s clothes.

She had already removed the tags and changed into the newly purchased shorts and knit sweater, with white stockings covering her legs.

Although she was 18, this outfit made her look like a 14- or 15-year-old loli.

Even though she stood 165 centimeters tall, the white stockings were simply too youthful.

Qiu Ye, on the other hand, did not care about the money, despite all his previous talk about saving for a house and keeping the future mortgage payments manageable.

“These shorts are shorter than my boxers,” Bai Yao said, hiding awkwardly behind Qiu Ye.

These shorts were comparable to boxer briefs; although they were a bit thicker, they still gave her the illusion that she was wandering around outside in her underwear.

A pair of straight, slender legs wrapped in white stockings were exposed to the air, attracting the attention of most passersby.

Bai Yao felt embarrassed, but Qiu Ye proudly put his arm around her shoulder.

“I think they look just right. They make your legs look long.”

“Is that so?”

Thinking back, Bai Yao used to run around the dormitory in her underwear every day, but the difference now was massive.

‘Back then, I still saw myself as a man… and after being seen by my roommates so much, it would be weird to start covering up now, wouldn’t it?’

But now, she was showing her thighs to every stranger on the street.

It felt strange… and ‘How… exciting!’

Shame was shame, but excitement was excitement!

Qiu Ye took Bai Yao to a seafood hotpot restaurant.

All the dishes in this shop were self-service, similar to a skewered hotpot place, where each plate had a different price ranging from 10 to 25.

Bai Yao ordered a fish maw soup base, took two sips of the broth, and followed Qiu Ye to the self-service area.

She ignored the hotpot meatballs entirely, as she had never liked those synthetic ingredients.

Instead, she went for various fresh shrimp, shellfish, crabs, and even King Crab legs—just how much would this cost?

Without realizing it, they had gathered a pile of food, and Bai Yao began to feel the sting in her wallet again.

“How much is all this going to cost?”

“The most expensive plate is only 25. It seems like a good deal. It’s my treat.”

“Logically speaking, isn’t your money my money anyway?”

Bai Yao muttered, placing the shrimp skewers into the small hotpot.

Qiu Ye looked up in shock.

“You’re learning fast, aren’t you? Well, that’s fine. My money is your money.”

As he spoke, he went to grab two bottles of beer.

Qiu Ye’s small hotpot was stuffed to the brim as he waited for it to boil.

“Want a drink?”

He handed her a bottle.

Bai Yao took the bottle, opened it, and took two direct swigs.

“Mmh… one or two bottles should be fine.”

Her menstruation had just passed, and she hadn’t had cold water in a long time!

“Hah—”

The icy beer made her let out a long sigh of relief.

“Good thing we came early; any later and we would have had to wait in line.”

“Is it that popular?”

“Try to be a bit more ladylike.”

Qiu Ye handed her a glass.

Bai Yao turned her head toward the entrance, where people were starting to line up one after another.

She took out a cooked shrimp, carefully peeled the shell, blew on it a few times, and popped it into her mouth.

Following it with a sip of beer, she squinted her eyes in satisfaction.

After finishing one bottle, Bai Yao’s cheeks were flushed with a drunken glow.

Her tolerance wasn’t great, but three or five bottles usually weren’t a problem.

Yet today, after just one bottle, her eyes were already misty, and she leaned limply against Qiu Ye’s shoulder.

Back then, she hadn’t even drunk that much.

“Just focus on eating. Don’t touch the hotpot or you’ll burn yourself.”

“Qiu Ye… peel the shrimp for me.”

Bai Yao swayed her head, her voice turning cutesy and high-pitched.

The last time Qiu Ye had seen her drink was when they had hotpot in the dormitory.

It was rare to hear Bai Yao’s high-pitched voice, and even rarer to see her acting spoiled.

This girl was usually too focused on her image and suffered from an ‘idol burden.’

Even when she was happy, she usually just pursed her lips and smiled with her eyes, acting very reserved.

It was mainly because she didn’t know how to hide her emotions, so she could only resort to a cold face.

But now, this girl was letting herself go, her voice was incredibly sweet, and she wouldn’t let go of him.

“Drink less.”

“Mmm…”

“I’ll go get things for you. Stop drinking.”

“I’m drinking! I’m drinking!”

“If you drink too much, I’ll kidnap you to a hotel.”

“Come on then—”

Qiu Ye pushed the rowdy Bai Yao back into her chair and hurried off to get some ice cream.

When he returned, he saw her clutching the beer bottle and gulping it down.

She let out a burp with a face full of crimson, hugged the bottle to her chest, and looked around with blurred, misty eyes.

She looked both dazed and adorable.

“Here’s your ice cream.”

“What else do you want to eat?”

“I just wanted to call your name.”

Qiu Ye rubbed Bai Yao’s head.

Since she could get this drunk off less than two bottles, it seemed he really couldn’t let her drink outside in the future.

“If you want to drink from now on, do it with me at home. Don’t drink with friends outside.”

“I know… I don’t usually drink anyway!”

Bai Yao leaned her head on Qiu Ye’s shoulder and mumbled, “I’m not like you, going out every day to drink with friends until you ended up with a bone fracture, waiting pitifully for me to save you…”

“Who was acting pitiful?”

Qiu Ye promised repeatedly, “Anyway, I’ll only have a few drinks with you. I definitely won’t drink outside anymore either.”

“Good boy—”

Qiu Ye let her pat his head and laughed as he pinched Bai Yao’s cheek.

“The shrimp are peeled, hurry up and eat. Do you want me to pick out the snails for you too?”

“Yes! Give me a hug—”

Bai Yao limply wrapped her arms around Qiu Ye’s waist, leaning her entire body weight against him.

Qiu Ye absolutely loved the drunk Bai Yao; she was so cute.

After eating for more than half an hour, Qiu Ye finished off with the last of the hotpot noodles and raised his hand to call the waiter.

“Over here, check please!”

He looked down at Bai Yao, who was sprawled in his arms and leaning against his thigh in a daze.

“Get up, let’s go back.”

His own voice had unconsciously become high-pitched, as if he were coaxing a child.

“Mmm…”

Bai Yao lifted her head.

When she saw the waiter walking over, her expression turned serious.

She immediately sat up straight and finished the remaining seafood on her plate with a blank face.

Aside from her flushed face, there was almost no trace of her being drunk.

Qiu Ye was filled with questions.

He was about to ask, but the waiter had already finished counting the plates.

“That will be 230 in total.”

The waiter wrote a slip and handed it to Qiu Ye.

“Please pay at the front desk.”

This restaurant charged by the number of plates.

Qiu Ye hadn’t realized how much they were eating until it was time to pay.

“That’s actually quite expensive.”

He tried to support the drunk Bai Yao, but she had already stood up and followed behind him.

Forget about stumbling; the girl’s eyes were only slightly misty, and she hadn’t even forgotten to take her unfinished drink with her.

Qiu Ye finally realized that he might have been played by Bai Yao.

“Are you drunk?”

“Yes, so dizzy.”

Bai Yao clutched her head.

“It hurts so much.”

Seeing Bai Yao’s tightly knit brows and her pained expression, Qiu Ye wasn’t entirely sure.

“Drink less in the future.”

“Okay—”